It is a common practice to provide eaves troughs at the lower edge of the roof to collect the rain water that runs off the roof. Such eaves troughs, however, have a number of disadvantages. The eaves troughs require downspouts to convey the water from the roof line to ground level and the downspouts adversely effect the appearance of the building. Moreover, the downspouts deliver the water in a highly concentrated stream and, if they discharge the rain water at the surface of the ground, the concentrated discharge of the rain water can cause ground erosion problems and water seepage problems in the area of the downspout. Further, the eaves troughs must be horizontally inclined in order to convey the water to the downspout and this change in elevation of the eaves troughs relative to the roof line also adversely effects the appearance of the building. In addition, the eaves troughs and downspouts tend to collect foreign debris and become clogged and, moreover, since they carry water, they are subject to rust and corrosion.